My Synlet
by Aggressively Hospitable
Summary: This fanfic is loosely based on Kijikun's Synlet fanfic. However in her's- Buddy dies, and I wanted a happy ending, so- here is my happy ending for these two.
1. Wake Up Buddy

Synlet

Chapter 1

After the accident Mirages last good will was to put Buddy into a very private, very well funded hospital on an island off the coast of France. They were partly a testing and research facility as well. When Buddy woke up 2 and a half years later he found a little girl hiding in his room she was maybe 2 or three perhaps closer to three. She was hiding under a desk with her eyes tightly closed.

"What are you doing little girl?" Buddy asked after he became aware of the situation.

"Shh! I'm hiding" she whispered.

"Are you playing hide and go seek?"

"More hiding than seeking." She admitted, she sounded sad.

"Who are you hiding from?" He asked in a whisper.

"The doctors- they want to see my eyes and it hurts so much..." She said her voice indicating she wanted to cry.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." His heart suddenly being pulled by this tiny little girl. Then there was an awkward silence and Buddy couldn't take it anymore.

"Well my name is Buddy, what's yours?"

"Lorili." Then he felt almost like a wave of pressure came across him. She came out of her hiding spot, and stood, eyes still shut but as if 'looking' at him and Buddy felt another wave of pressure.

"What happened to your arm Buddy?"

He looked at her stunned and then looked down to see that he did indeed no longer have a right arm. It wouldn't impede him much anyway since he was ambidextrous but favored his left hand for writing anyway.

Then it all came back to him, the jet engine, the crash, the horrible things he did...he instantly regretted it all. She walked a little closer and her face changed to show she wanted an answer.

"Well Lorili I was in a very bad accident..." He looked on the walls and saw a calender and after doing some simple math he realized how long he was 'out' for.

"Oh..." was her only reply, then her ears pricked up and she turned toward the door and started walking backwards toward Buddy.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Sh..someone's coming.." Then she froze for a second and then turned around looking relieved.

"So where are you from?" She asked.

"The United States." was his simple answer, for being a little girl she sure was smart and talked like she was at least 6.

"I don't know where I'm from..." she admitted then shivered to show she was cold.

"Where are your parents?" He asked inquisitively.

"I don't have any.." She 'looked' down toward the floor and tears started to roll down her face. Buddy never felt like such a tool in his life as he did then.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.." Buddy tried to apologize. He instinctively held out his arm to her. He felt another wave of pressure as he saw what looked like her hiccuping. She came over and held out her arms, she was so small, he easily picked her up with his arm and sat her down on his lap facing him. And took a blanket off the stand next to him and draped it over her. She covered up and then held out her little hands and reached for his face. He froze as the little girl explored his face with her hands, she paused at every scar and made a face of being in pain as she did so. She was already showing more empathy than anyone had ever shown Buddy. When she got to his hair she stopped and put her hands down and made a face like she was in deep thought. Then she took a deep breath in opened her eyes for just a moment, Buddy was stunned. She had gold eyes. Not yellow or brown but honest to goodness true 24k gold.

"Wow" He half whispered. She half smiled.

"Everyone says that the first time they see my eyes."

"Why do your eyes hurt?"  
>"Because they only focus for a second and then it starts to really hurt."<p>

"Oh." Then she jerked her head to the door again and tried to hide on his other side while whimpering. A nurse came in. She looked young. Maybe in her mid twenties.  
>"Oh, mister Pine, nice to have you with us...you wouldn't by any chance have seen a small child perhaps? She's blonde, curly hair?" Then they both felt another wave of pressure. And the nurse huffed and walked around the bed.<p>

"There you are! Lorili! Why are you in here?" She asked as she tried to pick up the little girl from the bed but Lorili was practically imbedded into Buddy's side. The nurse turned to Buddy.

"I am so sorry Mr. Pine..." As she tried to reach for Lorili to try and pick her up again and Lorili started crying and grabbing at Buddy.

"Hey!" Buddy yelled at the nurse. The nurse shot strait up with eyes wide.

"If she doesn't want to leave, not you or anyone else will make her leave. She is welcome to stay as long as she wants." He said with the biggest papa bear voice he could muster. If he had had his right arm he would have been holding her with it. The nurse stammered but got the hint.

"Of course Mr. Pine..." Then she left.

"You ok there?" Buddy asked looking down and the small child who was now holding on to him as if her life depended on it.

"Yeah, she's one of the nicer ones...but she was going to take me back to my room where the doctors are..."

"Well you're safe now..."

"Thank you." She said, her words still muffled from her head being nuzzled into his side. She had his hospital gown tightly within her little hands gripped tightly. He gently stroked the back of her little hand. That was just the beginning...


	2. Waves Bow Down To Lorili

Synlet

Chapter 2

After several months of recovery and rehabilitation Buddy was released to go home. But he wasn't alone. It became very obvious from that first day that Lorili had stolen his once cold and callused heart.

Buddy had invented special glasses for her to wear so her eyes didn't hurt. Unbelievably she could see everything, she could see every spectrum of light as well as regular 20/20 vision, she could see microscopically as well as extreme long distance and everything in between but she had little to no control over any of it, thus the pain. But she had other abilities beyond that, she was definitely a super. Buddy had found out that she was left at an orphanage by her mother who couldn't stand her infants nonstop crying whenever the child was awake as well as one day the child had what looked like lasers shoot from her eyes, cutting the small house in half and burning most of it. Once the child did the same to the orphanage, they gave her up to the hospital.

She had been born in Ireland but because of her quick abandonment she only learned to speak English because that's what the doctors and nurses spoke around her, she had had several nurses try to mother her but they didn't have the means to take care of her eyes like Buddy did. And none of them could keep her trust like Buddy had done either. For some reason Lorili had instantly liked and trusted Buddy. Perhaps she could 'see' something in him that no one else could before. Because her eyes had hurt so bad, she rarely ever used them, thus she formed her own form of sonar using air pressure she created in her trachea with a force that shouldn't be humanly possible. The doctors were baffled as to why and how she could do this. But they quickly learned that whenever they felt like a pressure wave had come over them she was trying to see where they were.

Buddy had not only built Lorili special glasses but another right arm. Granted he had a little trial and error but he eventually got it just right so that even the most trained eye would think he was born with it. He dismantled his former island fortress, and found another much safer island off the coast of California and Mexico. There he built Lorili the most magnificent house. The girl's rooms took up nearly 1/3 of it. She had her bedroom look like it was pulled from a fairytale. On the other side of the house Buddy built a high tech workshop/ laboratory. He was and always would be, an inventor, but now his inventions focused on improving peoples lives and safety, he refused to work on weapons of any kind. However the world knew him now, not as Buddy Pine but as Brandon Pinewell. He transformed his former financial empire, which had miraculously remained intact. The NSA had frozen all of his US assets but was growing weary of holding on to them for so long. So they sold them to a Brandon Pinewell from Europe or so they thought. But with his appearance being changed and his former image fading from most memories, it wasn't difficult at all for him to regain control. Occasionally Buddy would have potential business interests come to the island to see an invention or two but he would make sure Lorili would stay out of sight. She was his most precious possession now and he would never do anything to jeopardize her safety.

They lived quietly for a couple of years. Until one day he was walking on the beach trying to collect his thoughts and then noticed the weather shifted. He hurried back to the house to find Lorili standing in front of the house, facing the approaching storm. She wore a confused expression. Buddy picked her up and took her to the basement for safety after he realized it was going to be a very bad tropical storm.

"Why are we hiding from the storm Daddy?" Lorili asked.

"Because it's going to be a bad one sweetheart and I don't want you to get hurt."

"But Daddy, nothing will happen to us, I will protect you..."

"I'm sure you will..." Was his amused reply, she looked irritated, obviously he wasn't taking her seriously. Then she changed her expression to one of realization.

"Daddy I'll be right back!" She exclaimed as she wriggled her way out of his arms and bolted out of the house, Buddy called after her and chased her outside just in time to see a large tidal wave coming their way.

"Lorili!" He screamed at her, but she didn't bother to turn around instead she raised her little hands and the wave stood still as if against a wall of some sort, everything seemed to slow down. She walked toward it and the wave moved backwards as if trying to get away. Buddy stood there in shock. Despite the rain, Lorili stayed perfectly dry, perfectly safe, the wind wasn't even tousling her hair. As if surrounded by a bubble then everything stopped completely, the rain stayed in droplet form in midair, the wind didn't blow and the lightning strike in the distance was frozen in time except for Buddy. Then she moved her hands to her sides as if parting drapes, the wave split in half going to either side of the island, she looked up and clapped her hands above her head toward the sky and when she moved her hands apart the clouds followed suit. She 'pushed' the storm away from her Island. She wasn't kidding when she told them that she would protect them. She obviously had some measure of control over the weather, Buddy never saw that one coming. Then everything returned to normal, well, as normal as you could get after something like that. She turned around and he could see her eyes were glowing almost like the sun and they eventually faded back to normal. So was she a super, or something more? Buddy wondered to himself, he didn't know the answer but had a new found respect for his little girl.

"See! I told you Daddy, I will protect you."She said, out of breath since she obviously just expelled a lot of energy and effort even if most of it was mental. He walked towards her and picked her up and hugged her tight. She hugged him back and buried her face in his neck. And then promptly fell asleep. He brought her into the house and put her in her bed. He sat next to her and stared in wonder at the little marvel next to him. How could such a tiny little girl hold such power within her? He moved some hair from her face. She seemed so fragile, so delicate, she was his little princess. But how in the world did she do what she just did?

When she woke up a few hours later the sun was setting. Buddy had already made dinner, the smell wafted through the house and Lorili woke with a grin on her face. She came out of her room, teddy bear in hand as she climbed to her seat on the kitchen island. They had a perfectly beautiful kitchen table but both seemed to like the kitchen island better.

"Hey you" Buddy greeted his daughter with a warm smile, setting her plate in front of her.

"Hey Daddy, I'm sorry if I scared you.."

"How long have you been able to do that sweetie? To the weather, I mean." Lorili just shrugged her shoulders as she started eating.

"Oh, I don't know, it just came to me, you know? Like when you invent things, you say 'they just came to you' same thing I guess" Buddy nodded at his daughter's answer.

"Ok, well next time, tell me and don't ever run off on me like that again ok? It really scared me."

"But Daddy, you're not scared of anything."

He smiled at her reply but argued.

"I was scared that something was going to happen to you. I never ever ever want to see something happen to you, or for you to get hurt, because when you hurt, I hurt baby girl." The look of worry and sadness on his face moved Lorili to climb off the chair and run around the island only to get lifted into her father's big strong arms, she kissed him on the forehead and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry Daddy, I won't do it again, I promise." He kissed her cheek and set her back in her chair and she started rambling on about her day before that as if it was any other day.

Then after dinner was a music lesson, unbeknownst to many people Buddy actually could play the piano and pretty much any stringed instrument.

Lorili shared his love of music and loved the classics, she would giggle whenever her Daddy would play Beethoven she said 'it looked funny' little did he know that what she was 'seeing' was not only the way he played but the vibrations of the chords and the sound bouncing off everything in the room.

She also seemed to 'hear' in color. She said that some songs were really blue or purple or yellow or red. Buddy once sat down with her and played every key individually and had her tell him which key was which color.

His amazement at his little girl never seemed to go away, everyday he would learn something new about her and about himself. He was turning out to be a really great father, certainly the opposite of what he grew up with. He didn't have a good childhood, and perhaps it should be left at that. Among the many things he learned about his little princess, he learned that she had octaves in her voice that were astounding.

One day she was just playing and hit a note that cracked the window in her room, it scared her and she came running into his office looking for him. He wasn't there and she panicked ran into the hallway and screamed, hitting the note again, breaking most of the glass in the house. Buddy came running from his lab and knelled in front of her trying to figure out what had happened, after a very thorough inspection to make sure she was ok, he was shocked to find that she was the source off all the chaos. After that Buddy installed bullet and shatter proof plexi-glass in most of the house.

But this girl was so smart, Buddy was running out of things to teach her, she could already read and write in not only English but she had also learned several other languages as well. Sometimes she would mash them up and Buddy would have to ask her to pick one language and only speak one language at a time, he couldn't go from one to the other as quick as she could and therefore couldn't keep up with her. She would just giggle and concede. But she really was a good little girl, she loved her Daddy and felt that he had hung the moon and stars himself, just for her. Even tho to most people it looked like he spoiled her rotten, she took it all in stride and what she craved the most was just to have him around, to play and talk and be a dad to her. That's really all she ever wanted, and Buddy was more than happy to oblige as best he could.

But who knew that events half around the world would change everyone's lives forever...


	3. In the Club

Synlet

Chapter 3

It was time for Buddy to meet up with one of his business partners in Hawaii. Buddy left Lorili at the house with the only person he trusted this side of the continent. His housekeeper Grace- granted she was pushing 70 and the house was mostly self cleaning but he had known her for forever. Lorili thought of Grace more like a grandmother than anything and this wasn't the first time he had left his daughter with her.

"I will be back in a few days" He told them and hugged his little girl again as he left and got into his private jet. God he hated leaving her for any length of time. But it was more of a must than anything. After one of the preliminary business meetings they went to a local club and Buddy couldn't feel more out of place- yes he loved music, no- he couldn't dance. He was just grateful there were more handsome guys there than him, because he didn't want to be dragged out on the dance floor by any girl, drunk or otherwise. Thankfully he got along well with a few of his potential business partners so they mostly just talked business before a group of beautiful girls walked past then silence ensued as their eyes wandered and took in the various eye candy. Then out of the corner of his eye a girl in a rather small group arrested his attention like no other, she wasn't the prettiest girl there but something about her caught him completely off guard. Was it her hair? Not really, granted it was long, black, super shiny and looked like she had spent an hour with a curling iron judging by the curliness of her hair, but moving on. She was a bit shorter than some of the other girls maybe 5'5" and she had a figure with more curves than a scandalous sports car should have. And that was hot but no, there was something else, Her smile? Bright white and lit up the room. No, not that either...Her eyes? Oh yeah, the beaming _**violet**_ eyes. Where had he seen violet eyes before?

He didn't have a chance to answer his own question since he had unknowingly started to smile in her direction. Her gaze caught his and for a brief moment they stood there, across a rather crowded club, smiling at each other. Then people moved into their field of vision and it was lost. He looked around for her but she seemed to have disappeared into thin air. He let out an audible sound of disappointment.

"What?" His business partner Rick asked.

"Oh, I saw a pretty girl and she vanished.." Buddy half joked.

"Yeah, happens all the time..which one were you looking at?"

"Violet eyes, long black hair, pretty smile." Buddy tried to describe her and then caught sight of her and pointed her out.

"There! Over there- she's next to two blondes and a redhead over next to the bar."

"Well go and get yourself another drink then, go, talk to her."

"Rick, she's like what? Barely 21? I'm like..not even close to that..." This caused Rick to start laughing hysterically.

"Girls are curious creatures Brandon, go, don't be such a pansy." Buddy mocked glared at him but took his advice with a defeated sigh.

"Fine." He grumbled. By the time he got over there she had gotten her drink and nearly spilled it on him when she turned around thus bumping into him slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He apologized first. She smiled up at him since he was a few inches taller than her even when she was wearing 4" heels.

"Oh you're fine, Violet Parr" She introduced herself, holding out her hand for him to shake, her hand being swallowed up by his own. Buddy had to hide his shock at the sudden realization of who she may be. But then told himself 'no- it couldn't be her, there are probably hundreds of girls named Violet Parr with violet eyes- unlikely tho'

"And you are?" She asked

"Oh- Bud..Brandon Pinewell."

"Nice to meet you Brandon."

"Nice to meet you Violet."  
>"Excuse me." She moved passed him, trying to covertly drink in his cologne, she had smelled her fair share of cologne but whatever he was wearing, her nose didn't want to smell anything else for the rest of her life. Ok maybe that thought was a bit overboard but it was one of the best scents she had ever smelled. Of course while she was smelling his cologne, he was smelling her perfume, it was simple, he could smell jasmine, gardenia and perhaps honey suckle with something crisper like fresh linen. But it was beautiful anyway, just like she was, and those eyes were.. amazing. They were hypnotizing, they had spunk and were full of life. He could feel his heart skip a beat as she looked over her shoulder at him before joining her little group. Which had also grown by a few some guys had joined them, they started to couple up except for her.<p>

"Huh" he said as he was figuring out a great math problem. Then a song came on and all the girls in the club squealed as they made their way to the center of the dance floor. Violet had joined her group and was more than happy to show off her curves and flexibility much to the delight of every guy in the club, especially Buddy.  
>Now lets pause for a moment. We are talking about Violet Parr. The last time we saw her she was shy, introverted and barely hit puberty. But she had grown a lot since then. And she was on a mission but parading around pretending she was on vacation with these girls whom she had only met a few days earlier- but she needed their cover. A girl her age, on vacation by herself would seem suspicious to anyone. They were collage girls on vacation after exams anyway, what did they care? That and she may have had one or two too many drinks so she was good and loose. And she was fully embracing her Invisigirl's confidence. So back to the present..<p>

Violet could feel so many sets of eyes on her as she fell into the rhythm of the music. But one set in particularly. She looked around and saw Buddy standing back over where he was before, something about him drew her in. Was it his strong jaw? While attractive that didn't seem to be it, perhaps his red hair, slightly longer on top and cut really short on the sides and the back, nope, not that either. Was it his physique? He was tall standing at least 6'1 by her estimate. He was broad and by the shirt he was wearing she could tell he definitely worked out- heavily. He had these huge arms and when he had walked away earlier she noticed all the muscles in his back flex with every stride. He wasn't the most handsome man in the place but he did give all the other guys a run for their money so to speak but something about him drew her in. She couldn't put her finger on it but something about those ice blue eyes that sent chills down her frame and goosebumps across her skin. But something else pulled and nagged at her memory. Her mind started to go fuzzy. Then she felt something else- fear. She looked around and didn't see 'Brandon' anywhere but someone else caught her attention, just the look of him made her stomach feel sick. He was just as tall as 'Brandon' but much thinner and just looked..evil. She had an inclining of who it was. Probably her new nemesis..oh what was his name..you know what? He was too lame for her to remember. She just knew she needed to kick him into the ground tomorrow. She turned around and 'disappeared' into the crowd. She looked back and saw him trying to find her and had given up after a while, it was late and she needed to get back to her room anyway. But her thoughts were still with 'Brandon'- her chances of meeting him again were slim to none in her mind and didn't think much more about it. Just on to the next mission, the next villain, the next...god she was getting tired of this. She had never wanted to be normal so bad in her life. She had never really ever taken a 'vacation' it was always some cover up for a mission, and while that did excite her to a degree, she was still more alone than she cared to admit.

A few days later she did indeed pound that villain into the ground but he had booby-trapped one of the engines on her jet. She was almost to the California coast when her plane crashed into the ocean. She had spotted an island and swam for shore, passing out from exhaustion once she was on the beach.

Lorili was walking the beach with her dad and noticed someone on the beach.

"Daddy, Daddy! Look! There's a girl sleeping on the beach!" Buddy's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.  
>"Lorili- go back to the house, now." He sternly told her. She obeyed and Buddy rushed over to the girl, she was breathing, but very badly bruised and knocked unconscious. He immediately recognized who it was. He quietly swore to himself as he picked her up carefully and carried her back to his house.<p>

'Oh boy, now what am I going to do?' He thought to himself.


	4. Crash and Burn and Break a Leg

Synlet

Chapter 4

Thankfully Grace hadn't left yet. Grace had been a nurse for years, she was practically a doctor. She was the only one in the medical profession Buddy fully trusted, Lorili just thought her 'grandma' was good at helping people.

"Grace!" Buddy called once he was close to the house. Grace came out and put her hand over her mouth in shock at the sight of the poor girl Buddy was carrying.

"Goodness gracious! What happened?"

"I think she crashed in the water and made it to shore, come on, we have to get her in the house. Can you help her?"

"Yes, of course, we will put her in one of the bigger spare bedrooms we have. I will go get my kit."

After getting Violet to the spare bedroom Buddy could see she was wearing her super suit underneath what looked like every day clothes. He was out of breath as he stood over her half watching Grace check to see if the girl had broken bones but once Grace saw the super suit she had to ask.

"Do you know her?"

"Uh,...Kind of?"

"Friend or enemy?"

"Uh...Um..Neither I guess." Grace nodded then checked the girls right leg.

"Oh dear, she definitely broke her leg, the poor dear.."  
>"Violet, her name is Violet." Buddy said, Grace raised an eyebrow.<p>

"Ok, well I need to X Ray 'Violet's' leg, I need to see how badly it's broken."

"I'll be right back." Buddy left the room and after a few minutes came back with two rolling carts full of medical equipment and then got two more, Grace now had every tool she could imagine having at her finger tips from a portable X ray machine to an echo-cardiograph to you name it, Buddy had it.

"Lorili is still weary of hospitals and doctors..." Was Buddy's only excuse for having millions upon millions of dollars worth of hospital equipment in the house. After Grace X Rayed the leg she blew a sigh of relief.

"It's a clean break."

"Can you fix it?"

"Yes, it wont be that difficult. Do you know if she's allergic to anything?" Buddy left the room once more and came back with what looked like an electronic notepad. He typed so fast on the surface Grace was scared he would break his own invention.

"Penicillin- she's allergic to Penicillin. Other than that you're in the clear."

"Ok, well get out of here so I can work Bud."  
>"Thank you Grace. I owe you big time."<p>

"You bet, now go!"

Buddy stood in the hall still tapping furiously on his 'notepad'. It's like he found a new obsession- Violet.

"Is the girl going to be ok Daddy?" Lorili asked looking up at her daddy with worry across her features.

"Grandma Grace is taking care of her sweetheart."

"What's the girl's name?" Lorili asked.

"It's...Violet."

"Oh...I hope Violet gets better."

"Yeah, me too."

After several hours Grace emerged from the room, covered in blood, Buddy jumped up.

"Is she going to be ok?"

"Yeah, she will be just fine, thanks to your cell salvage system, she didn't loose that much blood. But she will need clothes the ones she has are shredded, I had to get them off of her somehow." Buddy opened a new tab for the internet on his notepad and handed it to Grace, despite her age she was just attuned to technology as he was. She immediately ordered the girl some clothes based on what she was wearing already as well as some other things that girls Violet's age just couldn't live with out. She handed it back to him with a look of accomplishment.

"She's stable, but she needs to stay in bed and take it easy for at least 6-9 weeks until she walk on her own. Looks like you have a new house guest Bud."

"But you are going to be with her the whole time right?" Bud asked.

"Bud- I am expecting my fifth grand baby any day now- as much as I would love to stay and help, family comes first- you of all people should appreciate that. Now I don't know when I'll be back but you can manage just fine, she got a bit scuffed up too so change her bandages a few times a day and take care of her. She's a strong one but she still needs lookin after, you hear?"

"Grace you can't leave me like this."

"Bud, did you not listen to a word I said? You will be just fine, I will leave express written instructions if you like but other than that I have got to go." With that Grace went to her room and cleaned up and packed her bags and got on board a little taxi ferry back to the mainland. Buddy came into the room where Violet was and she was hooked up to all the equipment, the heart monitor was beeping every so often. He just stood there- in shock. Just a few days ago she was dancing in a club in Hawaii, now- she was lying unconscious in one of his guest bedrooms just after having a brush with death. He gently shut the door and walked to his daughter's room. He poked his head in to see she was still fast asleep. Then he went to his room and laid in bed, wide awake. As hour after hour passed he just tossed and turned. So much was going through his mind he was having trouble making sense of it.

He finally fell asleep just as the sun was rising. He got maybe an hour before Lorili was up. She may have been 5 but she was a morning person. She came into his room and saw he was still asleep, she climbed in bed with him and snuggled next to him under his left arm. She was happy and contented to just lay there, listening to her daddy's heart beat, soon she fell back asleep. A few hours later Buddy's ears pricked up, he heard moans from the guest bedroom. He jerked awake and found Lorili sleeping next to him. Thankfully she didn't awake and he was able to slide out of his bed without waking her. He went to Violets room and found she had only stirred. He checked her bandages and changed a few he figured she would probably wake up soon.

"What am I going to do when she wakes up and realizes it _**ME?**_ Not Brandon Pinewell, but Buddy Pine? Will she hate me for lying to her? Well, if she figures it out? No, she's too smart not to figure it out. Crap! I knew I should have just flew her to California and dropped her off at the nearest hospital." He mumbled to himself. Then Violet stirred again and Buddy froze. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around.

"It's so bright in here.." She croaked before seemingly falling back asleep. Buddy went to the windows and drew the shades and curtains to make it darker.

"Is that better?" He carefully asked.

"Mmhmm." She mumbled, then she opened her eyes slowly taking in the room. Then groaned loudly.

"Take it easy, you broke your leg."

"Yeah, that would explain all the pain..." She slightly sarcastically replied, this made Buddy grin, even after a brush with death, she had a sense of humor.

"Am I in a hospital?" She asked, looking at all the equipment in the room.

"Kind of.." Was Buddy's soft reply.

"Where am I then?"  
>"You are...safe..are you hungry? I will go get you some breakfast." Before Violet could really answer he was gone. He came back a few minutes later with a tray of toast, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit and juice. He carefully set it down on her lap but was too afraid to make eye contact.<p>

"Thank you." She said in surprise. But before he could leave again she called to him.

"Wait! Have we...met before?"

"Yeah..I guess you could say that." He said, still turned around, not facing her.

"So..can I get your name?" She asked.

"Call me Buddy." He wanted to slap his head for not just saying Brandon, but he had lied to her once already, when she figures it out maybe she might be less mad to know he only did it once instead of lying to her non stop.

"Nice to meet you Buddy, I'm Violet."

"I know..eat up and rest." Was all he would say before he softly shut the door and left.

"You know?" She asked out loud in confusion but it didn't keep her from enjoying her simple yet very satisfying breakfast. Then she figured out she was on pain medication drip and pumped it up a notch and the pain melted away. She ate and then swiftly fell back asleep. Buddy came in a while later and collected the tray and put some more blankets on the bed. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful, even with out makeup and her hair was a mess. Buddy left the room and saw Lorili standing outside the door way.

"Is she ok Daddy?"

"She will be ok baby, but you got to promise me something ok?"

"What?"

"Promise me you won't bother her until she feels better, don't go into her room or talk to her ok? Until I say it's ok. She needs to rest." Lorili just looked at him confused but agreed by nodding her head.

"Ok Daddy, I promise."

"Ok, now let's get you dressed for the day." He held out his hand and they walked to her room and picked out what she would wear that day, when she went down for a nap, he stole away to his office to keep working on his latest projects, even if there was a wounded super in his house or not, there was still work to do. So far so good, but what would tomorrow bring?


	5. Lorili meets Violet

Synlet

Chapter 5

It didn't take but a week for Buddy to slip up in his wording and for Violet to figure out who he was. She threw her glass of juice at him, it shattered next to his head, lodging glass into his neck and shoulder, granted it was his right shoulder so it only cut the skin like covering over that arm, but still it hurt in other ways. She accused him of everything from poisoning her food to shooting down her jet..again..to keeping her there as prisoner for ransom. Even though she refused to get up and see if the door was actually locked. But despite her screaming and yelling and using strings of obscenities, Buddy kept his cool which only got Violet more angry.

'Why isn't he reacting, why isn't he being Syndrome? The evil, conniving mastermind I know him to be? What's wrong with him? I may be injured but would still love to throw down, I bet I could still get a good hit in.'

Buddy just huffed out of frustration and left the room. She was in no mood to listen to reason. Thankfully Grace came back the next day.

"I can't go in that room anymore Grace, I'm serious." Buddy tried to explain.

"But you told me yourself Syndrome died in the crash, you've told me that I don't know how many times, you have proven that very fact time and time again. But you need to be patient with her, she's wounded right now, she's off her game. No Super ever wants to admit that in their eyes their enemy has the upper hand..."

"But I'm not her enemy!"

"I know that, believe me I know, you wouldn't fret like this if she was. But keep in mind she has only seen you as Syndrome, she has never met Buddy, granted she doesn't seem all that interested now..."

"You think!"

"But what I'm saying is give her time- let her cool off a little, I will take care of her from here. Has she met little Lorili yet?"

"Heavens no! Why would I introduce someone who would see me hanged in the town square, to my most precious possession? I don't need Violet to fill her head full of hatred for me."

"I can understand that, ok, I will take care of it. Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, check me for broken glass..."

"What?" Buddy then told her of the 'incident' and Grace fixed up Buddy and then steeled herself for what could be behind that door to the guest bedroom. Grace wore a tan version of a doctors coat to keep Lorili calm but it still functioned quite well. Grace knocked softly on the door.

"What?" Violet spat out, venom dripping in the tone. Grace rolled her eyes. She opened the door to a very surprised Violet.

"Oh, I'm sorry...I thought you were..."

"Buddy?" Grace guessed.

"Yeah.."

"Well I'm not him..obviously, instead my name is Grace McGinnis, I'm your nurse, I'm the one who fixed your broken leg as well as all your other injuries. But before you could wake up I had a family emergency that required my attention so I do apologize for that. But I'm back now and hopefully you won't have to see Buddy anymore until you leave and go home."  
>"When?" Violet asked, eyes widening.<p>

"As soon as you're well, under the condition you never speak of this place to another soul..."

"Figures..." Violet huffed.

"Violet Parr..what is your problem?" Grace asked, getting irritated, putting her hand on her hip.

"My problem is I'm stuck here with HIM!"

"Buddy? He told me all he did to you since I've been gone is bring you food and change your dressings on your wounds. Has he been unkind to you other than that?"

"He tried to kill me!"

"When?"

"About five, almost six years ago."

"Ah, that was Syndrome who tried to kill you."

"They are the same guy!"

"No they aren't" Grace argued.

"Yes they are!" Violet argued back.

"Will you not listen to reason? Are you that caught up in yourself?" Grace asked then didn't give her a chance to make a comeback.

"Look, I know you are a Super, I've taken care of them for 45 years. I was a nurse at Sanctum Hospital for forever. I helped birth you for crying out loud!"

"Then why are you working for Buddy?" Violet demanded, accusations at the ready, her disgust evident in her tone.

"He helped me design and produce medicine just for Supers, you guys have special DNA that most medicines won't touch, now why would an 'evil villain' do something like that? Did you know since he came out of that coma he was in for 2 and half years mind you, that he has outright refused to work on any form of weaponry? Did you know he has since spent a very good deal of time and energy inventing things that make life easier and safer? He even came out with a plastic for playgrounds that is recyclable and safe for the environment and then donated, I kid you not, 5 tons of the stuff to inner city schools and orphanages around the world. Now why would a 'villain' do such things?"

"Good publicity?" Violet said, rather unimpressed.

"He did all those things under anonymous, so no, not for publicity. Are you that stuck in the past that you can't see that a man can change? If he was still Syndrome, I sincerely doubt you would be getting the kind of care you are getting, not only do have one of the most seasoned nurses who is practically a doctor herself, taking care of you but you are surrounded by millions and millions of dollars worth of medical equipment that most hospitals don't even have. I doubt you would be in such a beautiful room, with windows! Big ones! That you can look out and see the ocean and sunset in. I doubt he would bring you all natural, all organic food, on a tray and set it next to your bedside. Oh and by the way- he found the remains of your jet, it looked like a kindergartener thought C4 was play dough and put it on your little jet. If it had been Buddy or "Syndrome" you wouldn't be breathing, he never makes the same mistake twice. You are not chained to the bed, the door is unlocked but I swear if you keep up your attitude I will make you so sorry. I can't imagine Helen would be proud of the fact that her only daughter is being so disrespectful and ungrateful, I pray she never finds out because it would break her heart. Now what is it going to be young lady?"

"How do you know my Mom, like her name and stuff?"

"Like I said I was a nurse at Sanctum Hospital, I know every super this side of Japan. I know your dad- Robert Parr, aka, Mr. Incredible, I know your Mother, Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl,, I know you are Invisigirl and your brother Dash and Jack-Jack of course, does he still light the house of fire?" Grace chuckled with that last question which broke the tension in the room and got Violet to softly laugh too.

"Not nearly as much. But we keep at least 3 fire extinguishers in every room just in case."

"Well I'm glad to hear that. Now if I can make something clear- I have always known Buddy as Buddy, I never met "Syndrome" and I would never even consider working for anyone if I thought they were hurting anyone, no matter how much they paid me. In fact when I found out Buddy used be Syndrome I had a fit of my own. I had an aide stitch him up afterwords. But believe me, Syndrome died in that crash, he ain't coming back. Because if he does I will kill him myself, the NSA won't have a chance to get to him before I do. I may be up in years but I still got a lot of fight in me. He wouldn't stand a chance. Trust me on this."

"Oh I believe you."

"Now, let's get on the right foot shall we?" Grace asked getting her chart and looking it over.

"Have you been in much pain?" Grace asked after a few minutes and flipping some of the pages back, Buddy had taken impeccable notes and there were many of them.

"No, the medicine you have me on is fantastic, I don't feel numb but I'm not in pain."

"Three guesses as to who invented it." Grace remarked with a large smile.

"You and Buddy?"

"Bingo, now, moving on, would you like to access the outside world?"  
>"I can do that?"<p>

"I will make you a deal, because Buddy is very, very protective of his privacy, if you swear to me that you will never give up your location and who you are staying with...I will give you a laptop that connects to the internet so you can check your mail and let everyone know you didn't die. And if you drop the attitude and show some graciousness, humility, thankfulness and gratitude I may even be able to get you TV with satellite. Because I am a woman who believes relationships are based and truth and trust. I will trust you if you give me something to trust, like your word that you will never mention this place or Buddy. Do we have a deal?" Grace held out her hand for Violet to shake. Violet looked at the older woman and her inner voice told her Grace would hold up her end of the bargain is she did too.

"Deal." Violet shook Grace's hand firmly and kindly smiled. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Grace left the room and brought back a feather light laptop that took up most of Violet's lap.

"Now I will warn you, there are a lot of programs on there that will keep you from telling anyone where you are other than a classified location, if it senses you trying to tell anymore than that it shut down and only Buddy will be able to start it back up."

"Understood." Violet nodded.

"Now you have had an exciting day, how about you rest and tomorrow we can try getting you moving, you are probably in dire need of a shower. Right?"

"Oh yeah, that's an understatement. Deodorant can only do so much.." Both of them shared a laugh.

"Well I took the liberty of calling your parents while I was away, I figured they should hear it from me that you were alive and safe. They send their love." Violet's face changed to that of almost tears. Grace sat down next to Violet on the bed and held out her arms to her and hugged her only how a grandmother type can.

"Shh. It's ok, I know, you miss them..but you are strong sweetheart..you be just fine in no time. You'll see." She cooed as Violet started to cry on her shoulder. After Violet had finished and pulled herself together she laid down for a nap. When she awoke she saw a large flat screen attached to wall across from her- perfectly in her line of sight for easy viewing. Next to her hand was the remote with a note that read

"I figured you were probably bored out of your mind. In case you get tired of watching TV there are books in the nightstand. I got an assortment since I was unsure of what you liked to read. Hope you had a good nap- Grace."

"Aww" Violet said aloud, admiring Grace's handwriting. The next few days went smoothly Violet would 'exorcize' using her crutches to get from her bed to the bathroom. Grace had ordered her really comfortable clothes that fit over the cast. But Violet still didn't dare leave the rooms. It was as if she had built her own cage.

Then one day shortly after that Violet had gotten tired of watching TV and was reading a book, listening to the ocean in the back round when she felt like a pressure wave washed over her, when she looked up she saw a little girl with glasses and blonde curly hair standing behind the door that was only open far enough for her to fit her head through.

"Hi." Violet said, pleasantly surprised to see such a small child here.

"Hi." The little girl chirped.

"Are you feeling better?" The girl asked after a moment of looking at her.

"Yeah, well, better than I was I guess."

"Good." The girl said as she came into the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She walked closer to Violet but stopped 5 feet short of the bed, Violet could tell the little girl wanted to say something but was perhaps to shy to do so.

"So my name is Violet." Violet introduced herself.

"I know, my Daddy told me." The little girl said, quickly glancing around the room.

"Did he now?" Violet asked, confused.

"Yeah, he told me not to bother you until you were better..but you said you were better...so..I um..wanted to ask you...um..do you..do you...like music?" The girl asked, more nervous than ever.

"Of course."

"W-would you like for me to play you your song?"

"My song?"

"Yeah, your name is Violet so I only used the blue and purple keys cause the color violet is half blue, half purple."

"I don't understand sweetie."

"You know...some keys are green or yellow or red or blue..."

"I guess..."

"Well they are and so I only used the blue and purple ones."

"Ok, I believe you, I would love to hear it, I bet it's beautiful."

"Yeah, that's what my Daddy said when he heard it, he said it was beautiful just like you and me."

"What's your name sweetheart?" Violet asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"L..L..Lorili." Lorili responded.

"That's a very pretty name Lorili. And I must say you have very beautiful _**gold **_eyes too."

"Thank you, now don't go anywhere, I will be right back." the girl stressed as she opened the door carefully sticking her head out making sure the coast was clear. Then shut the door behind her and ran down the hall and across the house to her room, she grabbed her piano keyboard which was just as big as she was and dragged it across the house, amazingly not getting caught. She opened the door and brought the piano keyboard into the room.

"You can put that here on the table if you want. Here let me help you." Violet tried to get up but the little girl held up her hands

"No- I can do it myself." Lorili insisted.  
>'Stubborn little girl' Violet mused to herself. When Lorili got the piano on the small table which happened to be the perfect height for her to play standing up. She turned it on, keeping the volume low and carefully selecting the right setting.<p>

"Ok, you ready?" Lorili asked,

"I'm ready when you are Lorili." Violet encouraged her to play. So she took a deep breath and began to play and to Violet's astonishment the girl was very good, probably a prodigy of some kind, but she noticed the girl played very carefully, not even touching some of the other keys. When she was done Violet clapped and Lorili bowed as if on stage at a concert hall.

"Wow that was really good Lorili!"

"Thanks." The girl said once again turning shy. Then the girl began to study Violet for a moment and looked at Violet's hands with a confused look on her face. Lorili looked up at Violet for a second then back down to her hands.

"Are..Are you special?" Lorili asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well like...my Daddy isn't special, I mean he's special to me but not the way you're special...because I'm special too."

"How are you special Lorili?" Violet asked.

"Well...I have to wear these glasses or else my eyes will hurt."

"Why would you're eyes hurt?"

"Because my Daddy says I can see everything, even things other people can't see, like sound, every sound has a color- did you know that?"

"Well, now I do." Violet answered.

"Well that's not all I can see, I can see your bones!" Lorili made a face of intensity, her eyes becoming very wide for emphasis.

"Really? That is so cool!" Violet responded. The girl looked at her in surprise.

"Cool?"

"Yeah like nice and awesome, wonderful even."

"Oh I never thought it was any of those things..I think it's gross!" Violet started laughing which got Lorili to start giggling.

"Well can you do me a favor and look at my leg? I broke it and I want to see if you can see if it's healing or not."

"Ok." Lorili said as she took a step toward her legs and picked her glasses up slightly and looked at Violet's legs then up to her hands and quickly put her glasses back to where they should be.

"Yeah, your leg was broke alright but it's healing really good. And you really are special! You can make ..." The girl paused and made a face like she was trying to find the words.

"You make..bubbles with your hands!" Violet looked at her in shock. 'How the heck did she see that?' Violet thought as she looked at the little girl in front of her then a knock on the door.

"Knock knock- oh Lorili? What are you doing in here? Does your Daddy know you are in here?" Grace asked as she came into the room again.

"No...don't tell him, please? I just wanted to play Violet her song.." The girl tried to explain.

"Well I suggest you get out of here before Daddy sees you in here." Just then Buddy walked by the room and glanced in.

"Lorili?" He called out from the hallway, the little girls shoulders dropped. She knew she was in trouble.

"Hi Daddy." She said in a low voice.

"Lorili what are you doing in Violet's room? She's not better yet."

"But she said she was better! And I wanted to play her- her song Daddy!" The girl tried to explain again.

"Lorili..come here." Buddy said sternly but softly and pointed to the floor in front of him. And Lorili turned to get her piano.

"Lorili..Grace will get your piano, now come here." He repeated himself.

"Ok Daddy, I'm sorry Violet..I got to go now..it was nice to meet you and I'm happy you liked your song.."

"Thanks for coming to see me Lorili, I had fun." Violet tried to smooth over the situation. Lorili just smiled back at her and walked out of the room and took her Daddy's hand. Grace shut the door behind her.

"I wondered how long it would take for this to happen...she's been dying to meet you ever since you got here." Grace commented.

"Lorili is Buddy's daughter?..." Violet asked in disbelief.

"I didn't think I would live to see the day myself but yes she is. Actually she is the reason he's so different."

"Who's her mother?"

"I don't know- Buddy has never told me."

"So she just showed up on his doorstep one day?" Violet asked- still confused.

"Not necessarily, after the crash, Buddy was in a coma, when he woke up, Lorili was hiding in his room, she got under his skin and stole his heart and so he adopted her and took her home."

"Oh, so Buddy isn't Lorili's actual biological father..."

"No, but he loves her just as much if not more than if she was."

"So...what adoption committee would allow him to adopt a little girl?"

"Now that isn't really any of our business is it?" Grace kindly reminded her.

"But it is legal right? He didn't just steal her? Cause he has tried to steal children before." Violet argued.

"Yes, I have seen the paperwork myself, it's real, iron clad and genuine and Buddy has never tried to steal children, he told me how the Syndrome side of him tried to kidnap your little brother once but he was quickly thrown into a jet engine and Syndrome died in that crash so you don't have anything to worry about." Violet was silent, she didn't know how to take Grace's answer. But as the following weeks passed, Lorili would get more and more bold with her visits. Until one day Lorili dragged Violet to her room...


	6. Violet makes Dinner

Synlet

Chapter 6

Violet had gotten out of her cast and was wearing a stabilizing boot. She was practicing walking when Lorili came in suddenly.

"Hey Lorili." Violet said rather surprised to see the girl.

"Hey.." Lorili said, leaning backwards against the door then began looking all around the room again.

"Have you seen my Daddy?" Lorili asked suddenly.

"No..I haven't seen him in days..actually a week come to think of it..." Violet admitted.

"Oh.." Lorili said.

"You can't find him?" Violet asked.

"No- I looked in his room and his office and the lab is empty, he had breakfast with me and told me would be busy today so I should play quietly but...where do you think he went?"

"Well I don't know sweetheart, where's Grace?"

"She's in the garden, would you play with me? Please?" Lorili pleaded.

"Of course. You know I always love to play with you."

Lorili came over and took Violet's hand and nearly dragged her across the house. Violet had only ventured up and down the hallway a few times so seeing this much of the house was a bit of an eye opener. Here in the middle of the house- was a giant orange tree and a small garden at the base, with a variety of fruit bushes and flowers, mainly flowers that had a stronger sweeter scent. It was a piece of paradise in the middle of this rather space age but very comfortable house. Not to mention is was much more massive than she had originally thought. She got a glance at the massive kitchen and various sitting areas all of them having a couple little chairs. All of them looked custom made just for Lorili. Violet had to keep an audible 'aww' from coming out of her mouth. She finally reached what she assumed was Lorili's side of the house, judging by the pastel colored rooms and doors which were partly open, Violet stole glances in all the rooms she could. Violet had to admit, Lorili seemed to have it all, she seemed like a princess in her beautiful castle by the sea but Violet had a nagging feeling Lorili didn't need or want everything she had, what Lorili needed and wanted the most was her dad...speaking of which- why wasn't he here? It's not like he has a normal 9-5 job, he was an inventor- he could work when he wanted, play when he wanted. Lorili was such an amazing girl, she was so smart and unusually intuitive. Violet was quickly becoming enchanted by her like Buddy had been. As much as Violet would think that Buddy was just manipulating everyone, there was no manipulating Lorili, she started off being shy around Violet but Vi soon figured out that this little girl had a mind of her own and knew how to use it, she was strong willed and definitely had her own way of doing things. If anything Buddy was a bit indulgent, but he really was a good father, she saw fleeting glimpses of it from time to time.

When she finally came to Lorili's bedroom, Violet was not surprised to see a castle theme with murals on the walls.

"Wow- you have a beautiful room Lorili." Violet said looking around amazed.

"Thank you." Lorili responded, quite pleased with herself.

"So what did you want to play?" Violet asked when she came out of her little daze.

"Um.." Lorili thought for a moment. Then sprang back with-

"Chutes and Ladders!" Lorili went to a bookshelf that on the bottom shelf were all her boardgames, not surprising was a well used 'Monopoly' game.

"Does Daddy play this one with you?" Violet asked as she pointed to the well used game.

"Oh yeah, but neither of us win."

"Why?"

"Well because we always tie."

"Oh, well that's...nice."

They went on to play chutes and ladders for a few hours before Violet looked at a clock and noticed it was dinner time.

"Are you hungry?" Violet asked, Lorili shakes her head yes.

"Doesn't Grace make dinner?"

"No she usually has already gone home, she doesn't live here like you."

"Oh, so your Daddy makes dinner then?"

"Yeah but I haven't heard him all day."

"Well come on..let's find something to eat." Violet got up and offered Lorili her hand.

"Ok, you can cook?" Lorili said, rather surprised.

"Oh yeah."

"Well how come you didn't say that sooner?" Lorili giggled as she walked with Violet down the hall toward the kitchen, notebook and pen in hand. Violet stands near the open kitchen, she notes a large island in the middle with a special stool that Lorili quickly climbs and sits in and begins drawing as Violets became acquainted with the enormous kitchen. Lorili would occasionally look up and point her to the right cupboard for whatever Violet was looking for.

"So we are having Chicken and Rice, my own recipe." Violet soon announced, Lorili giggled some more at the idea of having someone elses cooking other than her Daddy's, and that's not to say he was a bad cook, he actually was very good but Violet was better, something about learning family recipes vs just simply out of a cookbook can make a difference. It didn't take long for the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma of the meal. Soon Buddy came out of hiding, looking exhausted. He stopped suddenly, looking at Violet in surprise and then looking at Lorili who was perfectly content to draw on her notepad while Violet was obviously cooking something that smelled...amazing. Lorili smirked as she looked up to him.

"_**Hi **_Daddy." Violet tried to hide her jump but Buddy grinned as he caught her doing so, he had snuck up on her. He leaned on the island next to his daughter and looked down at what she was drawing. Violet, who was cooking while keeping Lorili in her peripheral vision turned around and smiled, something about seeing this man acting so domestic and seem so normal was endearing, even if she didn't want to admit it.

"Hey." She greeted him.

"Hey- How's the leg?" He asked, doing his best to be kind and civil, letting her set the mood for conversation.

"It's a work in progress." She replied, her smile growing wider.

"It's not still putting you in a lot of pain is it?" His tone was sincere and his facial expression was so adorable to Violet.

"It comes and goes but not much to complain about..." Buddy nodded his head and turned his attention back to his daughter while Violet turned her attention back to her dinner, it was almost done. After Buddy asked about what Lorili was drawing which was a unicorn, he walked over to Violet and stood next to her looking at the various pots.

"So..what's for dinner?" He carefully asked.

"Chicken and rice- old family recipe." She looked to her side and up at him, a satisfied grin on her face. "Sounds delicious." Violet held his gaze for a moment which was soft but still a bit guarded. He was much more handsome up close. He wasn't wearing that cologne but he had been doing a little heaving lifting or so she thought, but whatever the case was, there was something so primal and arresting about him that caught her off guard. They had made their peace weeks ago. Now they were on friendlier terms, although still just out of reach of actually being friends. They all sat at the kitchen island to eat despite there being a perfectly good dining room table. The conversation was light and non invasive. Buddy even helped with the dishes, well, if you call just putting everything in the dishwasher helping. After dinner Lorili dragged her to one of the sitting areas and pulled out a book that Violet was unfamiliar with. It wasn't your everyday children's book, it was a story about two boys that have a fight at school and then once they get into the principles office, are transported to a scientist's laboratory and sent on an amazing journey and their reward for doing so is each others friendship. It was a charming story. Violet had actually snuggled up to Lorili on the couch with a throw draped around them both. Buddy sat in a chair close by, listening quietly and sketching something on the notepad in his lap, Violet had just figured it was more designs but in reality it was a sketch of herself and Lorili reading on the couch, it was incredibly life like and beautiful. When he was done he turned a few pages and started actually working a design just in case either of the girls got curious. It's funny, with all the advanced technology he had, he still preferred old fashioned pencil and paper for his designs. After the story was done it was time for bed. Buddy tucked her in while Violet watched from the door way. She backed up a few steps when he came near and shut the door.

"Thanks for watching her today." He whispered as they walked down the hall toward the rest of the house.

"You're welcome, she's such a great kid, I had fun."

"Well I know you must miss your family so as soon as want you can go home."

Violet nodded her head, she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. She opened her mouth in response but nothing could come out so she shut it again and kept walking with him, down the hall toward her room. He stopped outside of it and gestured toward her room. She stopped, looking at the door and then looked up at him.

"You know..." She started to say and then choked on the words.

"Yes?..." He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't think I ever thanked you.."

"For?"

"Saving my life, taking care of me, putting up with me even when I haven't been easy to deal with. You have been an unusually gracious host for a rather ungrateful guest. I'm sorry I accused you of all those things that you didn't do. I can see how you've changed. Friends?" She asked, holding her hand out for him to shake.

"Friends." He replied, shaking her hand, gently but firmly. They stood there for a moment smiling at each other, each vaguely remembering the first time they 're-saw' each other. Suddenly they both blushed and she said goodnight before he had a chance to say anything. Buddy stood there for a moment, letting the event sink into his memory. 'Why did I blush? Why did _**she**_ blush?' He thought to himself as he walked toward his own room. It was as if she was a puzzle he couldn't solve and that drove him crazy to a degree. He laid in bed, alone with his thoughts, his mind drifts to his house guest. He had grown slightly suspicious of her since she stopped being suspicious of him. He had mentioned something about it to Grace a few weeks ago and she had told him of her first conversation with Violet. But what Buddy was curious of was if Violet was being nice because she was told to be or was she being genuine? Usually he could read people well but with Violet, it was so different. Then he had to consider his own feelings that had crept up on him as well. He started to notice she was still beautiful, those eyes were still amazing, her smile still lit up the room. He noticed that he was really starting to be attracted to her, even tho he had fought against these feelings, considering the circumstances. But they kept snaking their way thru his heart. He told himself that she would never feel the same way, it would never happen, it could never work. He promised himself he wouldn't get too close to her.

Funny how things like this happen, because his actions mirrored Violet's as she laid in bed, going over all the things she liked about him but she still had her deep rooted reservations. She too promised herself not to get too close. But life has a funny way of doing it's own thing...or at least, what you don't expect...


	7. And the Walls Come Down

My Synlet

Chapter 7

Over the next few weeks Violet found that Buddy was hanging around much more than usual, she even insisted on making breakfast when she got the chance, usually it was before Lorili would wake up, she found talking to Buddy one on one was much easier now, even fun. She got to know Buddy as Buddy, not anyone else. She picked up on a few of his quirks that for the strangest reason, she found adorable. She found that he really did have a great sense of humor and he was learning just how to make her laugh. She learned about his tragic past and from her studies in collage about psychology she understood how he could go from Buddy Pine to Syndrome- which he profusely apologized for- back to Buddy Pine and how he was trying to reinvent himself as Brandon Pinewell. And she found it irresistible that whenever he opened up, she opened up, the friendship was growing rapidly. One day Violet was drinking coffee reading a magazine and Buddy was chatting about an invention and suddenly stopped, trying to find a word, which didn't happen often, Violet guessed the right word then finished the sentence for him only briefly looking up from her magazine with a smile. She was figuring him out, she knew it, he knew it. But he had also had her figured out as well. And so far they liked what they knew.

But she was running out of reasons to stay, for some reason she just couldn't come right out and say why she really wanted to stay, she just couldn't admit it, not yet anyway. She was at the point where she didn't need the boot for her leg, she really was all better, her powers had come back to full strength she had minimal pain now, she was putting her full weight on her leg but she was starting to love it here, she adored Lorili and Buddy was becoming an addiction that she didn't want to admit she had either.

One day they were making dinner together, she went get something on the other side of him, she touched his back to brace herself as she reached for it and he stiffened up. She acted as if it was nothing, or perhaps it was 'accidental', while he tried to shrug it off. He looked at her for a half a moment, trying to read her, trying to figure out if she did that on purpose or if it really was an accident. The way she acted almost led him to believe it was an accident except she had a tell, well two of them, a certain look in her eyes and her change in breathing. He chalked it up to him reading into this too much and that he should just let it slide.

Dinner was lovely and after tucking Lorili into bed they made their usual walk down the hallway together, whispering about the events of the day, the hallway was large enough that they could walk side by side comfortably and then some. He stopped just outside her door but instead of making his usual gesture he opened the door for her. She smiled at his act of chivalry and he made some comment about the curtains needing to be changed. She was surprised at this but replied that they were just fine, just the way they were, that everything in the house seemed to be just right if not just a tad over the top. Buddy tilted his head at the remark, not knowing how to take it exactly.

"Well what would you change?" Buddy asked.

"Me? Oh...well...actually now that you mention it, I probably wouldn't change anything, except maybe adding an indoor swimming pool..."

" Another one? What's wrong with the one I have?"

"You have one? Where?"

"I thought I told you about it, the day you stopped wearing your boot."

"Funny, I must have forgot."

"Well I can show it to you tomorrow if you want."

"I would really like that." Violet responded with a warm smile. Then Buddy's face fell, it's like he wanted to ask a tough question but couldn't find the words to start. He looked at the floor, putting his hand on the back of his neck as if staving off a tension head ache, Violet stared at him for a moment, dreading what he would say next. He looked up at her and saw the dread, his face softening and he let go of whatever he was about to ask and simply said "Sweet dreams Vi" and shut the door behind him. Then she realized something, he had never simply called her 'Vi' before, it was always Violet or sometimes he wouldn't use her name at all when it was just the two of them. Usually it was only her family that called her Vi.

The way he said it tho..it had a different feeling, a different meaning, it was deeper, stronger perhaps. She felt as if a string around her heart was being pulled, directly toward him. Then all of sudden she was crying, she couldn't explain exactly why but something in her head clicked, she wanted to stay because...because...she was falling for him, every smile, every quirk, every laugh, every little piece of him she learned or could figure out, was suddenly so precious to her. She came to realize and accept something that if it had been told to her 6 years ago she would have been horrified to find out. But now, the very thought got her heart to race and a smile to plaster across her face along with a bright blush to flash upon her cheeks. She liked him, plain and simple, she wanted to stay not only for Lorili- but because of him, she didn't know how else to explain it, she no longer felt like a prisoner, those feelings went out the window a long time ago. But she was having a few feelings of overstaying her welcome, she didn't want to leave, not yet anyway. She came back out of her room and caught sight of him walking slowly down the hall. She tried to softly call after him.

"Buddy wait!" He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around surprised, it was dark in the house, but he was at the end of the hallway, the light of the moon coming in thru the garden that was in the middle of the house, bathing everything in it's light. God he looked gorges. She came almost running up to him.

"What's wrong Vi?" Buddy asked, looking at her like something was seriously wrong. She came up and put her hand on his shoulder and then put her head down, trying to regain normal breathing. Her hand was shaking slightly and he bent over trying to hear if she was talking. She looked up at him and asked.

"What were you going to ask me?" She looked pained at the question but like she needed to desperately tell him something but was afraid to actually say it. He tried to read her expression and she could tell that he was pained by what he was about to say. He took a deep breath and with a lot of courage asked in a low husky voice.

"I was..just..wondering how long you were going to stay. You seem to be healed but..I just want to know."

Violet without hesitation answered him.

"As long as you will have me."

"What?" He asked, almost in disbelief.

"I...I...don't know how to say it other than that."

"But why? I don't understa.." He was cut short by her closing the distance between the two of them and quickly standing on her tiptoes, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. She did all of this so fast, she had wanted to do it for a while, she had dreamed of doing it for even longer. And now she had him, but he didn't kiss her back, he didn't dare move or breathe, he just tensed up again. She felt like such an idiot. She let herself down and didn't want to look at him, she was suddenly so embarrassed that she did something like this, especially since he had made no real invitations for anything even close to this. All of a sudden she felt his left hand come to cup her cheek and bring her head up to look at him, tears welled up in her eyes. He looked at her in wonder and awe with a small smirk in the corner of his mouth. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and pulled her close again. Now he was kissing her. He had not had a chance to prepare himself for her actions the first time and he froze out of fear he was delusional. But now- he ignored the fears he had before and embraced the moment. Suddenly he found his other arm was around her waist, pulling her up to her tiptoes again, her hands making there way up his chest and her arms finding their way around his neck again. They just stood there like that for a while, both content to just..be together. His hand had moved to the back of her head, holding her close to him. It's like she was his drug too, his secret addiction that he craved to be filled but afraid to say or do anything about it before. But now...all of those fears were melting away. All that mattered was staying in this moment, with Violet, his Violet. She deepened the kiss first, he followed suit. But a sudden storm broke their moment as they looked around, Violet was bewildered as to how the storm could have come so quickly and out of nowhere, lightning seem to strike near the house and she jumped.

"Where did this come from?" She asked, looking at Buddy who turned to her and answered.

"Hold on, I will be right back..." He made a B-line for Lorili's room. Violet followed out of curiosity. But when she glanced out of the windows she noticed the storm seemed to be small but powerful, and directly... over... the house...that was odd...


	8. Great Breakfast

My Synlet

Chapter 8

Buddy quickens his pace and opens the door to see Lorili having a night mare, he gently wakes her up and the moment she does, the storm disappears. Violet had a deep gut feeling that that was no coincidence. Violet had asked Lorili on several occasions what made her special, Lorili never said anything about controlling the weather. Violet comes in and kneels next to Buddy and comforts Lorili.

"Daddy, did I make it rain again?" Lorili asks apologetically.

"It must have been a really bad dream huh?" He said as he stroked her tiny hand with his. Lorili nodded as fat tears rolled down her cheeks, Violet reached up and wiped them away with her soft fingers and coed-

"It's ok Lorili, don't cry, it was just a dream, nothing to be afraid of." Buddy looked over at Violet and decided it would be safe for him to place his hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him, and had a look that Buddy knew was good but he didn't quite know how good.

"Daddy can I sleep with you? You always seem to keep the nightmares away." Lorili asked.

"Of course sweetie." Buddy reassured his daughter by squeezing her hand just a little tighter.

"Violet, can you come too? You said your bubbles would always keep me safe..." Buddy's eyes went wide and he looked at Violet and just whispered-

"Violet, you don't have to, she will be fine..." Violet smiled at Lorili and brushed some more hair out of her face.

"And your right, my bubbles will always keep you safe.." Despite looking calm on the outside, both Violet's and Buddy's hearts were feeling like they were going to beat out of their chests. But they rose and Buddy took Lorili into his arms and Violet took one of Lorili's hands in hers and they walked down a third hallway that Violet had never paid much attention to, but sure enough 2nd door on the right was his.

She was surprised at how simple the room was, it did have a bed that was way bigger than any other bed she had ever seen before. This bed could probably sleep 6 or 7 people comfortably but then she looked around the room, on each nightstand there were different pictures of Buddy and Lorili- Grace probably took them over the last few years. But everything had very clean, very simple lines to it. The colors were different shades of cool toned blues. The room had the lingering scent of his cologne that put Violet's nerves at bay, how could a scent be so powerful? She pulled back the covers and slipped into bed and scooted closer to Lorili and Buddy. Lorili slept between them and Violet put her hand over Lorili's back and rubbed softly, coursing the little one back to sleep. Then Buddy's hand came over hers and she looked up at him, not knowing what to say or do next.

"I'm sorry." He quietly whispered.

"For?" Violet whispered back.

"For not telling you about Lorili and the weather..."

"Has she always been able to do that?"

"As far as I know...she's still young, I don't know if she has realized all of her powers yet."

"Oh, well I'm sorry too."

"For?" He whispered with a slight smile.

"For not telling you the truth, I was just..afraid..." Violet tried to explain.

"Me too." Buddy nodded.

"Goodnight Buddy."

"Goodnight Vi, sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams." She whispered almost with a sigh, she closed her eyes and went to sleep, still holding his hand.

The next morning Violet woke up first, Lorili was still between them but all three of them had shifted during the night, becoming much closer to each other, Violet was sleeping on her side, her face towards Buddy's. One of her arms was curled around the child while the other rested on Buddy's side. It was actually a very comfortable sleeping condition. She smiled but didn't want to move, she didn't want him to wake up and move away from her. So she closed her eyes and tried to go back asleep, since it was still really early.

She was just starting to drift off when she felt Buddy wake up, she could feel him tense as she assumed he was looking at the same situation she did. Why did he have to tense up? It made her so nervous, she felt his fingers move in her hair slightly, like he was enjoying the sensation of having her long, beautiful, super silky hair thru his fingers like it was. She felt his breathing change, it became a little more rapid, as if he was trying to figure something out. She opened her eyes slowly and caught his eyes with hers. She smiled at him and whispered-

"Good morning."

"Good morning." He whispered back, not wanting to wake Lorili.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I..we...need to talk." He admitted.

"I know..later."

"About last night...I.."

"Don't worry about it." She tried to calm his nerves but it didn't work.

"Do you want to pretend it didn't happen?" He asked, carefully. She made a scowl that showed that was not the right thing to say.

"What?" He asked, his eyes widening. She held up a finger- a gesture that showed to wait a moment, she uncurled her arm from around Lorili so she could lean up on it. She looked at him and shook her head then very carefully leaned over Lorili and kissed him again. This time when she pulled away, Buddy understood what that look meant, it meant she loved him, she had left 'like' and had moved on to 'love'

"Oh"

"Why would I want to pretend that something that...meant so much..didn't happen?" She asked.

"I...had no idea.." Buddy confessed, mentally kicking himself for being so blind.

"Look, I know we need to talk, but let's wait a while or at least till nap time." She nodded her head toward Lorili and Buddy nodded, a smile staking claim to his face. Then Violet recognized the look on his face too, he was falling just as hard if not harder than she was. She couldn't be more pleased...except...for the fact that if her Dad ever found out where she had been and how she felt about Buddy, Buddy would be a dead man. She knew right then and there, that she would have to protect Buddy, probably for the rest of her life. Something she was more than willing to do at this moment in time. Then Lorili stirred awake and smiled wide as she saw Violet and her Daddy smile down at her.

"Good morning Daddy, good morning Vi."

"Good morning sweetheart, did you sleep ok?" Violet asked, snuggling closer.

"Of course, you must have had your bubbles around me all night..."

"Bubbles?" Buddy asked, he realized after he said it that that is what Lorili probably referred to Violet's force fields as, since most of the time they were bubble like.

"My shields that I make with my hands." Violet explained, Buddy just nodded in understanding.

"So what's for breakfast?" Lorili asked, eyes shining.

"Whatever you want." Buddy replied.

"Anything I want? Ice cream!"

"Ok I take it back, anything within reason." Buddy leveled.

"Oh, that's no fun!" Lorili argued.

"Well I actually know of a waffle recipe that would go really well with ice cream, is that a fair compromise?" Violet offered, Lorili looked at Violet in awe and then up at her Daddy, eyes large and pleading. He looked down and started to chuckle.

"Ok, fair enough." He agreed. Lorili jumped up and got out of the bed as fast as she could and ran to the kitchen. Violet began to chuckle too before Buddy reached out and put his arm around her waist, dragging her closer to him. She smiled wide and blushed. He softly and tenderly kissed her and then said-

"Thanks."

"For?"

"Saving _**my **_life."

"It's just breakfast."  
>"It's more than that.."<p>

"I know..later, come on, let's eat before Lorili makes it storm again." She lightly teased. He released her and got out of bed, stealing glances her way, suddenly realizing she was in a tiny tank top and little night shorts, god she was sexy, without even trying- she was taking his breath away. She went back to her room to throw on a bra and a robe but came back and made breakfast. Every time Lorili would look the other way both Violet and Buddy would steal kisses from each other. It became a very fun and exciting game for them. Then Lorili went to change which allowed Buddy to pin Violet against the kitchen island, he picked her up and set her on the counter so she was more comfortable but it was as if their tongues had a never ending battle. They did their best to stay quiet but occasionally a giggle and a soft moan would escape them. Then they heard Lorili's foot steps coming toward the kitchen and then they had to knock it off for a while. Both of their faces were flushed, they each wore a shameless grin and were a bit out of breath.

"I'm going to go play outside." She said as she continued out the back door and they could clearly see her playing on her own playground in the back yard thru the very large windows. Then Grace came in, looking warily at the two of them.

"Good morning..." She greeted them, looking at the two of them, knowing exactly what was going on.

"Good morning Grace." Violet responded first.

"Yes, good morning Grace, would you mind watching Lorili today? I'm going to be showing Violet around." Buddy tried to be nonchalant about the whole thing but Grace knew better, but she was pleased to see the development. They were each what the other one needed.

"Of course, take your time, _**have fun and be safe**_" She gave Buddy a knowing look and Buddy just laughed nervously, getting her meaning. Violet cleared her throat.

"Well I'm going to get a shower and get dressed then." And she left the kitchen and went strait to her room.

"Me too." Buddy added and did the same. Buddy came out first and Grace had finished cleaning up the kitchen and was waiting for him.

"So..what else are you going to show Violet?" She asked.

"I don't know what you mean Grace." Buddy tried to act stupid but he was a genius and therefore- it didn't work.

"You know exactly what I mean, who fell for who first?" Grace asked, eyes narrowed.

"I don't know. It just..happened."

"You do realize that when her father finds out, your safety and unanimity is in danger."  
>"Yeah..I figured."<br>"But she completes you doesn't she?" Grace offered.

"You can't even imagine."

"I'm proud of you Bud, now don't mess it up." Was all Grace offered in advice.

"I'm trying not to."

"You love her.."

"More than I should admit."

"Then be with her. Because I have a good strong feeling that she feels the same way about you, go." Grace nodded towards Violet's room. Buddy smiled at her and said.

"Thanks Grace, for everything."

"You're welcome, now go- you are running out of daylight." Buddy walked towards Violets room, all the giddiness in his system compounding itself in his stomach. His hands were shaking, his mind racing, all thoughts were on his Vi. How could he tell her how he felt, how could they make this work? How was he not going to die once Robert Parr found out?


	9. The Pool

My Synlet

Chapter 9

Buddy knocks lightly on the door.

"Yeah?" Violet calls.

"It's me." Buddy said.

"Wait a second." She answered. She was still only half way dressed. She had to keep herself from giggling. She knew she was falling for him, hard, she couldn't help it at this point. She couldn't wipe this grin off her face, she couldn't help her heart from racing, she couldn't help herself from feeling like she could walk on air. But she also couldn't help her sinking feeling. It wasn't that what she was doing was wrong- it was the fact that she was getting homesick and how her father would kill Buddy if he knew the truth. Then guilt struck her, how would she explain herself to anyone for her absence? How could she face her father and tell him that she loved his enemy. Then a glimmer of hope sprang up because another fact came into her mind's view- Her Dad's enemy had died, Syndrome had died for what felt like a lifetime ago. The man she loved was simply Buddy Pine, inventor and father, someone who loved her back...that was the most important part. She reaffirmed her confidence and opened the door.

Buddy lit up at the very sight of her, she didn't have any makeup on, her hair was still wet, she was only wearing a t shirt and jeans, but she was still gorges, still stunning.

"Hey beautiful" He said with a warm genuine smile. She lit up at the compliment.

"Hey handsome, so about that pool..." She had a glint of mischief in her eyes that Buddy found undeniably sexy. Blush flushed his cheeks as he tried to speak a coherent word. Her facial expression changed as she was trying to understand his stammering, she gave up after a minute or two as she just rolled her eyes and kissed him right there in the doorway. When she pulled away she looked up into his ice blue eyes and calmly asked.

"Better?"

"Yeah, follow me." He said, taking her hand in his and they walked down the hallway and went into a room just a few doors down from her and once he opened the door where there was a small office with a large bookshelf that took up an entire wall, he walked up and pulled a particular book out half way and a door disguised as part of the bookshelf opened.

"A-ha, secret doors, figured you would have a few in this house." She lightly teased while she really was impressed by the secret door. Buddy just chuckled, oh if only she knew how many he really had in this house...she might actually get mad come to think of it. Because her room had a few to tell the truth. Because there were a lot of times he would use them to check up on her, they were quieter than the obvious one so it made sense to use those at night when she was sleeping, he didn't want to wake her, besides she talked in her sleep and he got to know her subconscious pretty well, actually he should really wait to tell her that secret too.

Behind the bookshelf door stood elevator doors with a panel, at the bottom was a button with a 'P' on it- obviously for the pool. He pressed it and the doors opened and they stepped inside. The doors closed and the elevator went down to the basement, apparently there were two subterranean levels, his lab and such.

So when the doors open again Violet is greeted by an enormous pool, it had to be at least 20 feet deep complete with diving boards and it had to be 3 times bigger than Olympic sized pools, then on one end of it was a water park. Seriously? Buddy had built his own private water park just for Lorili. Where did the indulgence stop? The thing was enormous and was every kid's fantasy come to life, complete with several water slides and a mini wave pool on the other side. Then as she looked around some more she saw a hot tub- looked like you could fit at least 8 people in that thing and a sauna. He had thought of it all hadn't he? Violet just found her new favorite place to hang out, she loved to swim and that little water amusement park was bringing out the inner child she had that was currently screaming at the top it it's lungs to be let out so it could play.

"Wow." She said in awe.

"I know, I went a little over the top." He tried to explain.

"I don't hear anyone complaining." Violet said as she took it all in.

"Oh, well, glad you like it. In this room over here I have swim suits that I hope fit you because like I said, when you took your boot off I figured you would come down here sooner."

"Yeah, I totally don't remember you ever mentioning you had a pool in the house. But of course I don't have the best memory, and I have slept since you may have mentioned it before. But um, wow, I'm really glad you showed me this, I think it's my new favorite spot." She said as she walked away- hoping one of those bathing suits would fit her.

"I'll just be a minute." She told him as she closed the door and turned on the light. Yeah, for Buddy to say he bought a few bathing suits was an understatement, she felt like she was in a bathing suit store, everything was just in her size, still on the hangers.

"Holy...Oh Buddy!" She exclaimed. Buddy knocked on the door.

"Vi? Are you ok?" He asked, suddenly worried.

"Oh yeah, I'm just...fine..you really didn't have to do this." She called out but didn't bother to move.

"Well, do you like anything in there?"

"Oh yeah, now I just have to choose..you gave me so many choices."

"Sorry, I was trying to give you variety."

"I think I can forgive you." She started giggling which got him to laugh.

"Well, take your time, we have all day." He reassured her. Violet smiled to herself. She then went to pick out a suit, there were several full length mirrors in the room so she could try them on as she pleased, the third suit she found she instantly fell in love with, a simple black bikini. It fit her well, showed off her curves but wasn't too revealing. She felt amazing in it. She looked at the hanger- it was some designer she couldn't say the name to, figures, the suit probably cost more than she cared to know. Then she realized something, Buddy bought all of this for her, he obviously felt she deserved all of this, even if she was just a house guest. Any guilt she had faded to gratitude, she would have to make it up to him somehow. She grabbed a towel and put on a pair of flip flops he had in there for her, again- perfect size for her. She could tell he was going to spoil her rotten, without even trying. She opened the door to see him leaning against the wall, already in his swim trunks. He pushed off the wall and looked her up and down, yeah, she was definitely a goddess in his eyes now.

"Wow." He said.

"Oh stop, I'm not that..beautiful or anything." She blushed wildly, but the look on his face showed he felt differently.

"How could you say that, you are beyond beautiful, beyond gorges, beyond..." With every word he took a step till they were only inches apart, he put his hand to her face to cup her cheek and when he paused, looking for the word, he couldn't help himself, he kissed her. When he pulled back she smiled wide and said.

"You ran out of words again didn't you?"

"I had to improvise."

"Right.."

"I don't hear you complaining.."

"I doubt I ever will, so- I'm ready to jump in when you are."

"Ladies first." He gestured toward the pool. She smiled really wide this time and set her towel by the ladder in the pool but walked a little ways toward the deep end till about 12 feet deep. She backed up a little and then had a running start and yelled

"Cannon Ball!" As she jumped in. Buddy laughed at her and jumped in after her, of course with his bigger size his splash was way bigger than hers but they splashed around for a bit then Violet got the bright idea to play marco polo in the shallower end of the pool. Violet went first and it didn't take long for her to find him, then again he didn't try real hard. Then it was his turn. Even tho she could turn invisible he still shut his eyes. But after a several minutes that felt like forever, out of frustration he opened his eyes, but to his surprise she was no where in sight..well..kind of. She still cast a shadow, and from the lights in the pool he could tell she was swimming around him but..he didn't see her suit...that suit didn't come from Edna- so it didn't disappear with her...then he looked down to see her suit laying at the bottom of the pool just a few steps away from his feet. He gulped..HARD. She..was skinny dipping right in front of him. And he gasped at the realization of this. Then her shadow disappeared from the pool, the lights went down, Buddy looked over at the control panel and desperately tried to see if she was casting a shadow against anything, the whole time her soft, slightly devious giggles filled the room and echoed throughout. All of a sudden, he couldn't be more turned on and terrified at the same time.

"What's the matter?" Came her sultry voice- she was probably right in front of him but he couldn't see her, he looked down to try and see any shadows but it was so dimly lit that he couldn't make any out. His breathing quickened, his heart began to race, his thoughts went wild. He gulped again, his eyes searching, almost frantically, for any hint of her exact location. Then she appeared just inches from his face, she was too close for him to get a good look at her but he didn't care, since she was now kissing him, her body flush with his. He pulled her even closer, almost afraid he'd break her. The pool seemed to get a lot warmer over the next few moments. Violet had wrapped her legs around his waist as his hands explored every inch of her that they could reach. He moved them over to the steps of the pool, still half in the water.

"Please." She whimpered as she grinded her hips into his. With that he fulfilled her request...

A few hours later they found themselves in the sauna- resting and actually having that real talk they said they would. They figured out what was going to happen next and made plans. The world seemed so bright in that moment. Violet was getting sleepy and started to yawn quite a bit, it was time for her nap too. So Buddy picked her up and carried her bridal style back to the elevator to his room. Where he carefully laid her down in his bed and tucked them in for a nap. He could have laid there with her for the rest of his life. But it was just the beginning...


	10. Meet the Parents

My Synlet

Chapter 10

Buddy and Violet woke up a few hours later- it was the late afternoon, perhaps early evening. The sunset was coming into the room, bathing it in a soft purple, orange and red hues. Violet was being spooned by Buddy, he had his arm around her waist and held her close while his face was nuzzled in her soft hair and shoulders. She woke with a smile on her face, she felt so at peace, like she could lay like this forever, then her stomach growled and argued with her. She felt Buddy wake up and he instinctively held her closer.

"Hey..was that your stomach?" He asked groggily.

"Yeah..." She responded- still half asleep herself. Then his stomach growled even louder and Violet started to snicker.

"Good grief.." She teased.

"Sorry..It's been a while since breakfast." He playfully replied.

"Well it's probably dinner time by now... I hope Lorili had a good day..." She said, waking up more.

"Me too." He said as he kissed her shoulder. It brought smiles to both of their faces. She turned around in his arms and snuggled into his chest. She sighed a happy sigh and said-

"That has to be one of the best sounds in the world..."  
>"What?" Buddy asked, a little confused.<p>

"Your heart beat- it's a very precious sound to me." Buddy wanted to cry- but he held himself together long enough to take in a shaky breath and respond.

"Well it belongs to you now.." He could feel her smile against his skin, then came the tears. He didn't mean to make her cry, he really didn't, he was just trying to tell her how he felt. He put his hand to her chin and brought her face up to his, a tenderness he didn't even know he had, came out of him as he kissed away her tears. She held on to him so tight..he knew she would never want to let go. He was so happy to find someone who loved him, despite his past. Someone who he could trust and love in return. She was open and honest and forgiving. He had agreed to go with her to see her parents. He knew it would make her happy, but his gut wasn't settling with the idea. He had pleaded with her to let him use his alias Brandon Pinewell, for his own safety sake. They could call him Buddy still but just for now at least- he only wanted her and Grace to know who he really was, he was still very protective of his privacy and he had reluctantly agreed to take Lorili along. She was still about a year and half younger than Jack-Jack- well now they just called him Jack, but in any case- Violet still wanted her family to meet her. Violet had been so happy when he agreed to go with her back home. Buddy was not the kind of guy to ever go back on his word.

When Violet got a hold of herself she couldn't hold back her smile that said 'you make me so happy- I love you', Buddy swore she could melt ice and stop bullets with that look. It made his heart swell and bubble over with these feelings for her that were getting deeper and more entrenched by the minute.

They reluctantly got out of bed and got dressed and went to the kitchen to get some dinner. Lorili was drawing in the living room and rushed over to her Daddy as he came into view.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

"Hey kiddo! What have you been up to today?" He greeted his daughter as he picked her up and carried her in his arms. Lorili began to tell her about her day of drawing, playing hide and seek, eating lunch and so on.

"What did you do Daddy?" Violet's eyes went a little wide as she held her breath- what was he going to say?

"Well me and Violet...had a busy day, it was fun though."

"What did you do?" Lorili innocently asked.

"Well..we..went swimming for a little bit."

"Oh, well I'm glad you had fun Daddy."

"Me too sweetie"

"So what's for dinner?" Lorili asked, changing the subject, much to the relief of Buddy and Violet.

"What do you want for dinner?" Violet asked going over to the fridge and seeing what there was.

"Spaghetti!"

"Well that's what we are having then."

"Woohoo!" Lorili cheered as Buddy set her down in her own little stool and started drawing again while Violet got to work on dinner. Buddy took a moment and let the reality set in. This scene was rather perfect, it was so domestic, so completely different than what he grew up with. He now had two women in his life and found his heart was indeed big enough for both.

"Buddy can you help me make the meatballs?" Violet asked, glancing over her shoulder at him, it brought Buddy out his little trans he was in.

"Yeah, sure thing hon." That little term of endearment didn't go unnoticed, Lorili's head shot strait up and looked at Violet who blushed lightly but smiled wide at the sentiment. Lorili looked at her Dad for further explanation of his actions. He just walked over to Violet and helped her make dinner. Lorili's hopes started to soar. If Buddy liked Violet enough to call her 'hon' or 'honey' or whatever else grownups called each other and they HAD been spending a lot of time together alone, than that was a really good sign. It meant that Violet might get to stay longer, maybe forever. Lorili had liked Violet from the get go but recently she had stopped herself from calling her 'mom' or 'mommy' because she knew Violet loved and adored her but now this was a sign she wouldn't have to hold back anymore. She got really brave and decided to test it out.

"Mommy? I have to go get something from my room, I'll be right back." Lorili got down and went to her room to get colored pencils. It was Violet's turn for her head to shoot strait up. She looked over and Lorili had already left, Violet called out after her.

"Ok..sweetie.." Then looked at Buddy and implored him while whispering.

"Did Lorili just call me 'Mommy'?"

"I...believe she did..are you not ok with that?" Buddy asked, a slight panic and uneasiness in his voice.

"No- it's fine...I'll be right back..." Violet said, setting down her spoon she was stirring the sauce with.

Violet walked down the hall to Lorili's room and knocked lightly on the door.

"Hey Lorili- can we talk for a second?" Violet said as she sat in a little plastic chair next to a tea set.

"Sure."

"Why did you call me Mommy just now?"

"Did you not like that?" Lorili asked, eyes getting wide, ready to tear up.

"Sweetheart- I would love it if you called me 'Mom' or 'Mommy'- but only if you want to."

"Well I love you like you were, so I figured I could."  
>"Well I love you like a daughter and then some sweetheart, you can call me Mom or Mommy whenever you want, ok? Because I would love nothing more than to be your Mom."<p>

"Really? Does that mean you're gonna live here with me and marry my Daddy?"

"If he asks me, then yes."

"Yay!" Lorili shouted as she ran towards Violet and threw her little arms around her, holding her tight, Violet started giggling because Lorili nearly knocked her out of her chair. Violet hugged her back and planted butterfly kisses all over her cheek.

"I love you baby."

"I love you too Mommy." Violet stood up, still holding _**her**_ little girl and carried her back to the kitchen. Violet sat Lorili in her stool and kissed her on the forehead as she walked back over to the stove where Buddy had taken over.

"Mommy? Can my dinner have extra meatballs?"

"Of course darlin."  
>Lorili got the biggest smile on her face- she couldn't be more pleased. Buddy looked and Violet for an explanation and Violet just winked at him with a smile while she started the pasta.<p>

After dinner Buddy helped clean up and they decided to sit in the living room. Buddy sat down on the couch with them and cleared his throat- effectively getting their attention.

"Lorili? How would you like to go on a trip?" Buddy asked

"Where would we go?" Lorili asked back- looking at them both with eyes wide- she rarely got to go anywhere.

"How would you like to meet _**my **_mom and dad?" Violet asked. Lorili's eyes went wide with delight.

"Really? I get to meet _**your **_mom and dad?"

"If you want to."

"I would love that! Where do they live?"

"Um..a little ways from here- we would probably fly there." Buddy answered, Violet nodded in agreement.

"That would be so great! When do we get to go?"

"This weekend if it's not too early for you." Buddy answered.

"Why can't we go tomorrow?" Lorili pleaded.

"Because my parents need time to get things ready for us." Violent answered.

"Well can't you tell them to hurry up?" Lorili argued. It got Buddy and Violet to chuckle, oh Lorili couldn't get much cuter than this.

"You can be patient sweetie. It will be here before you know it." Violet reasoned.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Yipee! I'm going to go pack!" Lorili yelled as she made a run for it to her room. Buddy and Violet got up off the couch and leisurely walked back to her room, hand in hand. Once they got to her door way they could see that she had thrown herself into a frenzy trying to find anything that resembled luggage.

"Sweetheart- don't worry about packing tonight, we have the rest of the week- it's only Tuesday so we have 3 more days." Violet reasoned with her.

"But how long are we going to be there for?"

"Probably only two or three days. But we have plenty of time to worry about it later. So how about we all go to bed- all of us have had a big day today." Lorili calmed down and sat on her bed in a huff.

"Ok..." She said rather disappointed they weren't leaving that very moment.

"Thank you baby. Now- let's get some rest- we have another big day ahead of us." Violet said as she leaned down and kissed Lorili goodnight. Buddy followed suit and tucked her into bed.

"Goodnight Daddy, goodnight Mommy." She said as they were leaving the room.

"Goodnight sweetheart." They said, almost in unison and shut the door.

After they had shut the door Buddy put his arm around Violet as they walked toward Violets room.

"Well that went much smoother than I thought it would." Violet admitted.

"Yeah, me too. Glad she likes you tho."

"Well I think I love her more than she loves me. I'm really honored she would call me 'mommy', I didn't see that one coming but..it just..feels.."

"Right?" Buddy asked- his own hopes soaring higher than he would have admitted.

"Yeah, it feels right." Violet affirmed. They stopped at her room so she could grab a few things and 'move in' to Buddy's room. Somehow both agreed that it was the right place for her to be. It didn't take long for them to get settled in to sleep themselves and before they knew it, it was morning again.

Violet almost hated the fact that was the next day already. She hadn't even talked with her mom about coming yet, let alone having a boyfriend and a kid in tow. She got a phone and called home after breakfast.

"Hello- this is Helen."

"Hi mom." Came Violets relieved voice.

"Violet! Where have you been! Oh sweetie- I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too mom- listen- when I left for Hawaii on that 'secret mission' something happened."

"I know- we got a call from Grace about how you got hurt- are you better now? Are you coming home?"

"Mom- I have my own apartment- I don't exactly live at home anymore."

"But you know what I mean."

"Yeah I do, so listen, I crashed landed on this 'secret location' that just happens to be owned by this really great guy and um...he's helped me heal mom...and...I really...really like him."

"So how come you never mentioned this 'great guy' before?"

"Because he's really protective of his privacy- most billionaires are mom." Helen gasped on the other end then dropped the phone.

"Mom?" Violet asked after she heard the phone drop on the ground.

"Mom? Are you there? Are you ok?" Violet started getting a little worried.

"Yeah..I'm here..what did you say?"

"He's...really really private, and really really protective of his privacy and stuff."

"Oh.."

"But, here's the thing, he has..a daughter."

"Well sweetheart there's nothing wrong with that, I would never judge a man just because he has a daughter, unless he has a wife too at the moment."

"No- he's never been married and he adopted the daughter, it's really sweet actually, I will have to tell you all about it sometime. This weekend perhaps?"

"Oh you can't be serious? You are! Are they coming with you?"

"If it's ok with you guys- I would really like for you to meet both of them."

"Oh we would love to, what's his name again?" Violet hated lying to her mother but she didn't have a whole lot of options.

"Well his legal name is Brandon Pinewell but I call him Buddy and you could call him Buddy too if you wanted."

"Brandon Pinewell? Of Pinewell Pharmaceutical Inc? They make medicine and stuff don't they?"

"Yup- that would be him- even tho he's not a super himself he makes medicines just for supers, I got lucky huh?" Violet nervously laughed.

"Well I should say so, so when are you coming?"

"Friday afternoon, evening- ish."

"How are you getting here?"

"He's- Buddy- is going to have us fly in."

"Ok- well call me and let me know, Vi?"

"Yeah?"

"How serious is this?" Helen asked. Violet took a deep breath and told her mom the truth.

"Mom- he's...amazing, he's sweet and thoughtful. I adore his daughter and love her like she was my own and he couldn't be nicer- granted he's an inventor so he has those little quirks about him but...I..really..might actually think...that I love him Mom. You should see the way he is with me, the way he is with his daughter- he's just..amazing, wonderful, kind, caring, compassionate, patient, endearing, just..all those things every other guy I've dated never has been."

"And it has nothing to do with the fact he's loaded."

"No- he could be working in the fast food industry building burgers and it wouldn't make much difference to me. But Mom- he...loves me back, I feel like this...this..could be the one Mom."

"Are you serious? Violet! I'm so happy for you! Oh, I just can't wait to meet him. Oh I hope the house is ok.."

"Mom- he grew up very poor actually, his mom was an alcoholic and his dad was non existent most of the time- mostly because he was on the run from the law and in prison or generally hated his family. Buddy comes from a very rough childhood. That's probably why he's such a great father now because he doesn't want to make his parents mistakes. I have never seen him even raise his voice to Lorili- that's his daughters' name by the way, but seriously, like he's firm with her when she gets a little out of hand but otherwise he's very kind, very gentle. So the house will be fine. This guy likes spaghetti and meatballs most nights for dinner and breakfast cereal- he's more 'normal' than I am."

"Well you're a super so that isn't exactly a fair comparison."

"True but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, you're right. Well when you get an exact time, call me back and let me know ok? Jack is making a mess over here, call me later Vi- I love you sweetheart, bye"

"I love you too Mom- bye." Violet hung up after her mom did, then she curled up on the couch and cried...how on earth was she going to do this? How could she have her family and Buddy and Lorili in her life all at the same time?

Buddy walked into the living room with some papers he was going over and looked up and saw what was going on.

"Violet?" He called out, putting the papers down and rushing over to Violet, putting his arms around her.

"Vi- what's wrong?"

"I miss my mom, my dad, my brothers...everything." She sobbed into his chest.

"But baby- we get to see them in two days- well one and a half days if you think about it."

"But I had to lie to my mom..." She sobbed further.

"What?" He asked, not quite hearing her.

"My mom- I told her your name was Brandon Pinewell, I told her you owned Pinewell Pharmaceutical Inc or whatever."

"Well I did legally change my name to Brandon Pinewell and I do own that so you didn't lie..." He tried to explain.

"But you know what I mean!" She made a fist and hit him in the chest lightly- showing how upset she was. He took a deep breath in and sighed.

"You're right baby, you're right, you usually are. But please try to understand where I'm coming from on this...please." He whispered in her ear.

"I'm trying."

"Thank you, it will be ok, I promise, you'll see. I love you." He said as he squeezed her tighter.

"I love you too. I just hate, hate, hate lying to my parents. Don't ever make me do it again."  
>"Ok, well, when things calm down I will tell them myself ok?"<p>

"Promise?"

"I promise." She hugged him tighter and wiped her tears all over his shirt.

The next day and a half was a blur- everything from packing to the phone calls to the very nice very large private jet and landing at the airport. They rented a car, packed their stuff up and drove to Violet's parents house, they parked outside the house while Buddy and Violet took deep breaths, squeezed each other's hands and got out of the car with Lorili and bravely walked up to the door, they knocked while Buddy and Violet felt like their hearts were going to beat out of their chests. Helen comes to the door.

"Violet! You're finally here!" Helen yells as she embraces her daughter, then she turns her attention to Lorili and Lorili introduces herself and then Violet introduces Buddy as Brandon Pinewell but that everyone can just call him Buddy for short. Helen invites them in and announces their arrival

"Bob! Your daughter is here! And she has someone you would like to meet!" Helen yells across the house to the back yard while Bob is firing up the grill. Bob puts down his giant grilling fork and comes in. He is a lot bigger than Buddy remembered him being.

"Hi Bob- I'm Buddy." Buddy greets Bob with an outstretched hand for him to shake. Bob is impressed and shakes his hand with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Buddy, and who is this?" Bob asks with special interest to Lorili.

"This is my daughter Lorili- Lorili, can you say 'hi' to Violet's dad?"

Lorili comes out from behind Violet and looks up at the very large Bob who bends over and gets on one knee to see her closer.

"Hi Lorili, I'm Violets dad Bob- but you can call me Pop if you want." Lorili slowly nods and looks at her Dad.

"It's ok sweetie, you can call him Pop." Buddy assures his daughter. Lorili then takes a step toward Bob and looks him up and down.

"You're very strong aren't you Pop." She says slowly.

"Yes I am." Bob says with a smile. Lorili goes back to Violet and says

"Your dad is really big and strong."

"I know- but he's also very nice and very sweet, think of him like a big marshmallow."

"Oh..ok." Then she looks over at Bob who had stood back up and Lorili leans toward him so Violet took a few steps toward her father and Lorili reached out and touched Bob's arm.

"He doesn't feel like marshmallows." Lorili said rather matter of factly. Violet started laughing which got everyone else to laugh.

"But he's sweeter than marshmallows." Lorili just looked at Violet like she had lost her mind.

"Is that true Pop?" She asks Bob.  
>"I like to think so." Bob replied.<p>

"Ok. Well it's nice to meet you Papa Marshmallow." Then everyone started roaring laughing.

"Did I say something funny?" Lorili asked, a little bewildered.

"That's an even better name sweetheart. Now how about you go play with my brother Jack?" Violet said, pointing with her free hand over to her brother who simply waved. Lorili looked over at Jack and whispered rather loudly.

"But he catches himself on fire."

"Hey!" Jack protested, Violet gave the kill signal while the adults looked at each other confused.

"I promise he won't catch himself on fire around you- he's also really nice tho. He's really fun to play with."

"Promise?"  
>"I promise, now go play."<p>

"Ok Mommy." Lorili said as Violet put her down and Jack showed Lorili the back door.

"Is there something you want to tell me Violet?" Bob started.

"About what?"

"Lorili?"

"Oh, right, um..she's a super, I don't know if you noticed but she has these really pretty gold eyes.."

"Yeah I noticed..and?"  
>"And she can <em><strong>SEE<strong>_ everything, from someones powers to ultraviolet light to sound waves. She's the most gifted young super I have ever known. That's why she could say you were strong and Jack can light himself on fire."

"Right, why did she call you "Mommy."?"

"Because I'm the closest thing to a Mother she has on this earth and if she wants to call me Mommy, then she can call me Mommy." Violet shot back.

"Ok, Ok, I give. Welcome to the family Bud, come on back and grab a beer and help me grill dinner."

"I would love to." Buddy replied while he thought 'one hurdle down, a thousand to go.'

Violet in the mean time prayed silently that they could pull this off. 'Please let this work, please let this work'.

"Vi honey- help me make a salad" Helen called from the kitchen. Violet walked into the kitchen and helped her mom cut up stuff for the salad, that's when Helen popped the question every child never wants to hear from their parents

"So? How long have you been sleeping together?" Violet gulped...what would she say now?


	11. Buddy Meet My Dad Bob

My Synlet

Chapter 11

"Mom!"

"What? We're both adults here."

"But you're my _**mother...**_and no one likes to talk about their sex life with their parents, it's just wrong." "Not when you're doing it right.." Helen joked.

"That lemonade is spiked isn't it?" Vi asked, suddenly grinning.

"Want some? It will put you at ease and maybe you can enjoy your visit instead instead of keeping that guard of yours up on high alert."

"I have my reasons mom."

"And what might those be?"

"I just...really...want you guys to like Buddy. He's so nervous and you have to admit, Buddy would not be the first guy to be intimidated by Dad."

"Well to be perfectly honest sweetheart, we're intimidated too."

"How? Buddy's not anything _**that**_ amazing, well he's amazing to me but that's beside the point, he's not a super, he's not attached to the government in any way. He makes medicine- FOR SUPERS- he's definitely one of the good guys. I just don't want..you or Dad to judge him harshly that's all. I know you think he's loaded beyond belief and to a degree you would be right. BUT That doesn't make him one of those evil rich guys or whatever. The truth is he's an awesome father, a brilliant inventor, and just...incredibly thoughtful and nice and sweet..."

Helen listened as her daughter went on about all the things she liked and loved about him, she recognized the mark of love on her daughter as clear as day. She smiled knowingly at her daughter.

"What?" Violet asked when she saw her mom's expression change.

"Alright, I can see you're head over heels. You don't have to convince me further."

"But I want to know if... what you think." Violet argued.

"Well, he introduced himself to your father and held his hand out first- a good sign of character there..he does have a good smile and his body language suggests he's nervous but I can see him trying, he's tall and handsome and my favorite part is the way he looks at you."

"But we just got here, how could you see how he looks at me?"

"He has the same mark on him that you do, he's past smitten."

"How can you tell?"

"Sweetheart, when you have lived as long as I have and seen the things I've seen, you just know."

"So you like him..is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah, I think I do Vi." Helen admitted with a sly grin, Violet let out a sigh of relief, 'two hurdles down, a thousand more to go' Violet thought to herself.

"Thanks Mom, now I would like some of that lemonade."

"Now were talking." Helen poured a glass for her daughter and Vi sipped happily since Buddy had no alcohol in his house, or at least any that she could find, she figured with him having an alcoholic mother would make anyone despise the stuff. But Violet had a lot more balance and discretion than her years would give her credit for, but then again, she had seen him drinking in that club so maybe she wasn't giving him the credit he was due.

"So?" Helen asked after she started setting the table.

"Sooo?" Vi asked, lost in her mother's question.

"Are you going to answer my original question?"

"Nope..because like you said, we're both adults here, adults are allowed to keep their private lives private which is what I'm going to do."

"Ok, I can respect that." Was Helen's simple way of saying she was going to drop the issue.

"Thank you." Violet said as she put the silverware on the table then an eruption of laughter from the backyard got their attention. Buddy had apparently figured out Bob's sense of humor and told him a joke he couldn't resist. Violet looked up to see her dad smack Buddy on the shoulder as they came inside to get more beer.

"How's it going out there Bob?" Helen asked.

"Good."

"You have an ETA on dinner then?"

"Shouldn't be too much longer...you girls having fun in here?"

"We sure are dad" Violet said with cheerful smile.

"Good to hear it sweetie." Bob said as he gave her a one armed hug from the side. Violet made a sarcastic sound that he was crushing the air out of her lungs that made both of them chuckle.

"Love you too dad." Vi replied after he let her go to and went to munch on some chips while Buddy returned to her other side.

"Hey" She greeted him softly and warmly, still glowing with nostalgia.

"Hey" He replied, winking her way and succeeding in making her blush, she bit her bottom lip as she shook her head and brought the salad she was putting the finishing touches to, to the table. And Buddy just stood there still in the kitchen, staring at Violet like she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Bob saw the scene and smirked to himself. Then when looking at Buddy's profile, something struck a chord in his memory. A small fire started in the back of his memory, it was annoying like he was forgetting something. But Bob being Bob just shrugged it off and pushed it to the back burners of his mind. Then Violet came back into the kitchen and saw her dad staring at Buddy. She purposefully walked into his field of vision to break his stare. Bob shook his head and looked down at his daughter who was looking slightly confused.

"You ok?" She said in a low voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Bob said, reassuring his daughter. Vi narrowed her gaze at her Dad and led him to the other room.

"What?" Bob asked.

"Why were you looking at him like that Dad?" Vi whispered.

"Like what?" Bob asked, getting a little exasperated.

"Like you don't like him..Dad..Look, I really really like this guy, like I might even love him, BUT it's EXTREMELY important to me that you like him too. Please Dad- give him a chance, a good, honest fair chance. Please?"

"Oh sweetheart, I was thinking about work- I just happened to be looking in his direction, I didn't mean anything by it I swear." Bob tried to explain.

"Oh." Violet said, embarrassed by the fact she apparently jumped down her Dad's throat for nothing.

"Calm down sweetie, it's ok- I like the guy."

"You do? Oh thank god." Violet said, exhaling and looking relieved and giving her Dad a big bear hug.

"You...have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that Dad." Violet admitted, muffled by the fact her face was buried in her Dad's chest and arms. Bob just chuckled and kissed the top of his daughters head. I guess he never thought of his daughter really caring THAT MUCH about what her parents thought. But Bob knew his daughter well enough that even if he didn't like the guy- she was probably going to at least continue dating him for a while anyway. She was after all fiercely independent and knew how to take care of herself.

"Who died?" Dash asked, walking up on them.  
>"No one Dash." Bob said as he pulled away and looked at his son who was still looking confused.<p>

"So..who's the guy in the kitchen?"

"My new boyfriend- Buddy, well his name is Brandon Pinewell, but just call him Buddy." Violet answered.

"Oh, ok." Dash replied, shrugging his shoulder. Dash goes in and introduces himself to Buddy who stayed put in the kitchen.

Violet talked to her Dad for a few more moments before joining everyone else. Bob got the food off the grill and the family sat down to a nice dinner. Of course Helen and Bob had the usual 'tell us about yourself' kind of questions which Buddy seemed to have perfectly scripted answers for but of course only Vi could tell they were only half truths, her family of course took it as the whole truth.

The weekend went well, it was smooth, too smooth. Bob and Buddy did have a 'talk' but Buddy survived. And before they knew it the weekend was over and Violet went back to her apartment to get some things, mostly pictures and personal effects. Buddy had asked her to move in with him which she said yes.

And to no surprise, a few months later Buddy asked her a much more serious, life changing question...


	12. Meet Me At The Alter In Your White Dress

Synlet

Chapter 12

Violet of course said yes. But her heart sank just knowing her parents didn't know the whole truth. She had am amazing, overwhelming happiness at times but it was soon followed by worry and stress. She knew she couldn't live with herself if she kept the truth a secret.

She went back to see her family to 'share the news' and of course consult with a wedding planner, of course having a budget as large as hers was, nothing was out of reach.

While dress shopping Violet broke down in the dressing room with her Mom. Helen of course was completely surprised by the sudden severe mood swing. And then there was the misunderstanding that Buddy was being abusive, so Violet had to make sure she cleared that up. But then she just had to tell her Mom everything, Helen remained quiet as her daughter let it all out.

"So...that explains...a lot." Helen said slowly

"But he's not the same! He's changed! You saw him, you saw how he is."

"You're right I did, but old habits are hard to break, aren't you at least just a little worried that the old him might come back?"

"In the back of my mind...I guess but my better sense and instincts tell me the chances are slim to none."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Will he make you happy?" Helen asked, rather somber.

"Yes, but it won't be the same if you and Dad aren't happy for me."

"Well you don't need to worry about me sweetheart, I know a man can change...your father on the other hand will take a lot of work, and a lot of time."

"How much time?"

"Baby, it's hard to say."

"Are we talking weeks, months?"

"Years."

"Damn...that's what I was afraid of." Violet groaned,

"But your father has surprised me before. Don't give up hope, remember- love conquers all."

"Promise?"

"Oh yeah, so back to happier things, do you like any of the dresses you tried on?"

"This one, this one, and that one." Violet answered, wiping her eyes with one hand while pointing with the other.

"They are all beautiful..."

"Thanks."

Talking about the wedding as if nothing was wrong somehow made both of them feel better. Now the hard part. When and how to break the news to Bob would be another matter entirely.

It took two weeks for Bob to speak to Vi. And he was not the nicest guy when he did. It took a full 6 months before he finally agreed to give her away at her wedding. Eight months after that there was an uneasy peace.

The wedding went off without a hitch. It was beautiful and simple yet extraordinary.

It took 4 years for Bob to trust Buddy, another few years after that, Buddy found himself, at the Parr's family reunion, being introduced as Vi's husband Bud or Bob's favorite son in law, granted he was the only son in law but it was still nice to be accepted as part of the family, it felt like it took forever but they got there, safe and sound. They way it was meant to be.


End file.
